OB/GYN groups: 'We want to maintain our independence'

A merger of the Tri-State’s two largest independent obstetrics and gynecology practices is a way for the groups to avoid coming under hospital ownership.

“We want to maintain our independence from the hospitals in terms of what medications we prescribe, what hospitals we admit patients to, which specialists we refer to,” said Dr. Gerry Reilly, CEO of Seven Hills Women’s Health Centers.

As I reported April 30, the 24-doctor Seven Hills Women’s Health Centers and the eight-doctor OB/GYN Specialists of Northern Kentucky are joining to meet the new demands of health care.

Going to work for hospital systems has been a major trend for physicians, especially primary-care and cardiology specialists. Reasons include getting help with administrative burdens and IT needs and obtaining higher reimbursement from insurance companies through market power.

Health care reform and other federal measures reward groups who can invest in information technology and quality-improvement initiatives.

Reilly said his group previously had negotiated twice to join a hospital system.

“Each time,” he said, “we declined to finalize the deal because it looked to be advantageous to them and not to us.”

The merger should allow the doctors to hire more executives to help them run the practice, he said. Total physician and staff employment, he said, is likely to climb to more than 200 from the current 180.

The combined group now has IT, accounting, marketing and billing departments.

The groups also hope to affiliate with more physicians. The number of doctors is now nearing 35, and Reilly would like to see it hit 50. Reilly said he’s talked with practices in Dayton and Columbus.

The Seven Hills and Northern Kentucky groups practice at Mercy Health, St. Elizabeth Healthcare, Christ Hospital Health Network and TriHealth’s Good Samaritan and Bethesda North hospitals. For now, both groups will maintain their own names.

Dr. John Darpel of OB/GYN Specialists of Northern Kentucky said he believes he can best care for patients in an independent group.

“We’re our own business,” he said. “We don’t have someone else, potentially a businessperson, telling us what they think is best for our patients.”